1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connectors, and more particularly, to a connector suitable for high-speed signal circuits in which crosstalk is inhibited and impedance matching can easily be established.
2. Related Art
In recent years, as electronic information devices grow more sophisticated, the rate of signals treated with electronic circuits is increasing very rapidly. Moreover, circuits are being densified and integrated, and a distance between signal lines is being shortened. Because of such increase in the rate of signal transmission and miniaturization of devices, to secure packaging technology and wiring technology which can control noises and delay is increasing in importance to such an extent that it becomes a governing condition of the whole system.
In light of such a present situation, there have been made a variety of suggestions for dealing well with high-speed, high-density signal circuits also in the field of connectors. What is important for connectors for high-speed, high-density signal circuits is crosstalk control and impedance matching. Crosstalk is a failure associated with an electromagnetic behavior of signals in a high-frequency circuit and refers to a phenomenon that signal lines arranged side by side interfere with each other. With reduction in a distance between signal lines resulting from densification of a circuit, the crosstalk control is becoming an important challenge. Impedance matching refers to a procedure to cause signal circuits mutually connected to have a predetermined impedance (usually standardized at 50 xcexa9, 75 xcexa9 or 90 xcexa9) since if the circuits have impedances mismatched, reflection of signals and the like will occur at connecting portions thereof. To reduce an electrical transmission efficiency or to control the generation of reflected waves by establishing impedance matching is becoming an important challenge for achieving the increase in signal transmission velocity (the increase in frequency). Moreover, impedance mismatching itself will cause crosstalk.
As means for solving such problems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 243936(1994) discloses a composition wherein an earthed conductor is disposed between signal terminals. In such a composition, however, a connector structure becomes complicated and its applicable range will be restricted. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 96814(1994) provides means for ensuring impedance matching by adjusting the area of the main body parts of terminals. This approach is unique as an impedance matching method, but is not suitable for a small production because to design the optimum shape requires the adjustment involving the change of a mold. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 162227 (1996) proposes to adjust the area facing the adjoining contact to reduce impedance, thereby adjusting it. This approach, however, can not deal with those having impedances lower than the predetermined impedances due to limitations in design.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 215819(1994) discloses means for establishing impedance matching by reducing impedance through providing, to paired conductor portions, such plane parts that can be given predetermined capacitances. However, also this approach requires much labor to form conductor portions of special shapes and the designing of the shapes of the plane parts is difficult.
Other various suggestions have been made in this technical field, but any means sufficiently simple and effective is not known, yet.
The object of the present invention is to provide a connector which can match impedances easily and a method for matching the impedance of a connector.
The connector of the present invention is that comprising an insulator and two or more conductor portions provided side by side within the insulator. The insulator is characterized by being formed of a composition obtained by incorporating, to a matrix resin, 5 to 85% by weight of a ceramic dielectric powder having a dielectric constant of 30 or more determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz.
In the present invention, the dielectric constant, determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz, of the resin composition constituting the insulator is preferably 5 to 20, and more preferably 7 to 15.
Moreover, in the present invention, it is preferable that the insulator is substantially homogeneous in the dielectric constant throughout the insulator.
The method for impedance matching of the present invention is that in which the impedance of an impedance matching-type connector is matched and is characterized by constituting the insulator of a connector by using a resin composition having a dielectric constant of 5 to 20 determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz.
The resin composition constituting the insulator of the present invention is that obtained by incorporating, to a matrix resin, 5 to 85% by weight of a ceramic dielectric powder having a dielectric constant of 30 or more determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz.
The matrix resin can be selected appropriately from various kinds of thermoplastic resins and thermosetting resins. However, from the viewpoints of moldability, heat resistance and mechanical strength, desirably used are polycarbonate resin, polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin), polybutylene terephthalate resin (PBT resin), polyamide resin such as polyamide 46, polyamide 6T, polyamide 6/6T, polyamide 6, polyamide 66, polyamide 11 and polyamide 12, polyphenylenesulfide resin, polyethersulfone resin, poly 1,4-cyclohexane-dimethylene-terephthalate resin (PCT resin), polyamideimide resin, polyphenylene ether resin (including polyphenylene oxide or the like), modified polyphenylene ether resin, polyphenylene ether resin including alloy resin made of polyphenyl ether resin and polyetherimide resin, polystyrene resin (particularly, syndiotactic polystyrene resin is preferred), 5-methylpentene resin, cyclic polyolefin resin, heat resistant ABS resin, aromatic polysulfone resin, polyether imide resin, polyether ketone resin, polyether ether ketone resin, polyether nitrile resin, thermotropic liquid crystal polyester resin (LCP), melt-resistant fluororesin, thermoplastic polyimide resin and the like.
Furthermore, the thermosetting resins are exemplified by triazine resin, thermosetting polyphenylene ether resin, epoxy resin and the like.
These resins can be used alone or after the mixing of two or more of them.
As the ceramic dielectric powder having a dielectric constant of 30 or more determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz (this may, hereinafter, be referred simply to as xe2x80x9ca ceramic dielectric powderxe2x80x9d), there can be employed powders of various kinds of ceramics known as ferroelectrics typified by divalent metal salts of titanic acid typified by alkaline earth metal titanates such as barium titanate, lead titanate, strontium titanate, calcium titanate, barium-strontium titanate and barium-calcium titanate; metal zirconates such as barium-lead zirconate and lead zirconate; vanadic acid compounds such as sodium vanadate; metal niobates such as sodium niobate, potassium niobate, lead niobate and cadmium niobate; metal tantalates such as lithium tantalate, sodium tantalate, potassium tantalate, rubidium tantalate and lead tantalate; metal oxides such as titanium oxide, molybdenum oxide and tungsten oxide; and complex oxides such as lead titanate zirconate. Such a powder may be those having various shapes such as granular material, fibrous material and squamous material. Among them, fibrous powder and squamous powder are preferable because these can contribute also to the improvement in strength. Those having a dielectric constant of 100 or more determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz are particularly preferable. These may be employed either alone in a single sort or in combination of two or more sorts. Preferred specific examples of them include metal titanates represented by a general formula MO TiO2 (in the formula, M denotes one kind or at least two kinds of metal selected from Ba, Sr, Ca, Mg, Co, Pd, Be and Cd) such as barium titanate, strontium titanate, calcium titanate, magnesium titanate, barium-strontium titanate and barium-calcium titanate. Fibrous powders having an average particle diameter of 0.05 to 3 xcexcm and an average aspect ratio of 3 to 200 are particularly preferable because of their excellent dielectric characteristics in a high-frequency region and of their reinforcing effects.
Of these metal titanates, most of their powdered products are easy to commercially obtain as commodity chemicals. Some fibrous products are marketed, but they can also be produced by the following production method. That is, an example may be a method comprising mixing a titanium source compound such as a titania compound represented by a general formula, TiO2. mH2O (in the formula, m is 0xe2x89xa6m less than 8) and one or two or more substances which can become oxides of metal M on heat and heating them to react at 600 to 900xc2x0 C. in the presence of a flux such as alkali metal halide. Moreover, as another method, they can be produced by covering, by a coprecipitation method, a surface of fibrous titania compound with a carbonate of metal M in an amount approximately equal to the molar amount of titanium and then heating.
As the ceramic dielectric powder, composite fiber comprising a metal titanate represented by general formula MO TiO2 (in the formula, M denoting one kind or two or more kinds of metals selected from Ba, Sr, Ca, Mg, Co, Pd, Be and Cd) and amorphous titanium oxide compositely united together in the form where the metal titanate is involved in the amorphous titanium oxide wherein the molar ratio of M to Ti is 1:1.005 to 1.85 can also be preferably used. Specific examples of such composite fiber include composite fiber comprising barium titanate and amorphous titanium oxide compositely united together in the form where the barium titanate is involved in the amorphous titanium oxide, and composite fiber comprising barium-strontium titanate and amorphous titanium oxide compositely united together in a form where the barium-strontium titanate is involved in the amorphous titanium oxide.
As a method for producing these composite fibers, they can be produced by covering the surface of a fibrous titania compound with a carbonate of metal M in a predetermined molar amount less than titanium by a coprecipitation method and thereafter heating. The thus obtained composite fiber is desirable since a connector superior in mechanical strength can be obtained therefrom because the composite fiber is strong as fiber and it is less broken off during its kneading into resin or molding.
Details of the production method of a dielectric powder that can be employed in the present invention are disclosed in Japanese Patent Nos. 2639989, 2716197, 2627955, 2788320, 2814288, 2711583, 276165, etc.
The resin composition constituting the insulator of the present invention is that obtained by incorporating 5 to 85% by weight of a ceramic dielectric powder to a matrix resin. Here, the incorporation ratio may be set so as to coincide the desired impedance in the connector. However, in usual, a dielectric constant of the resin composition is preferably set so that a dielectric constant determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz becomes approximately 5 to 20, and in many cases, approximately 7 to 15. In such ranges, crosstalk can be controlled effectively.
To the resin composition for constituting the insulator of the present invention can be optionally incorporated, in addition to a matrix resin and a ceramic dielectric powder, coupling agents such as silane coupling agents, titanate coupling agents and zircoaluminate coupling agents, fine powder fillers such as talc, which is superior in an effect of improving a plating property, flame retardants such as those of phosphorus type, halogen type, antimony type and phosphazene type, coloring agents such as dyes and pigments, lubricants/sliding agents such as polyolefin powders, fluororesins and fats, mold releasing agents, impact-resistance imparting agents such as elastomer, which has the effect of improving impact resistance, antioxidants superior in improvability in heat stability, etc.
Moreover, unless the effect of the present invention is impaired, reinforcing fillers such as glass fiber, milled glass fiber, potassium titanate fiber, aluminum borate fiber, magnesium borate fiber, wollastonite, xonotlite, boehmite and mica can be used together. Particularly, the use of squamous fillers such as boehmite and mica is effective in reducing warp, which is desirable to be controlled especially in connectors.
The resin composition constituting the insulator can be obtained by, but is not limited to, dry-mixing ingredients as needed, followed by kneading and extruding with a twin screw kneader, followed by pelleterizing with a pelletizer.
It is preferable that the incorporation ratio of the ceramic dielectric powder to the matrix resin is adjusted appropriately so that the resin composition constituting the insulator has a dielectric constant determined at 25xc2x0 C. and 1 MHz of approximately 5 to 20, in many cases, approximately 7 to 15. Here, the upper limit of the dielectric constant is restricted due to the increase in signal loss and to the deterioration of moldability caused by the incorporation of a great amount of ceramic dielectric powder.
The dielectric constant is to be set appropriately depending on the material, shape and the like of other parts constituting the insulator and the connector. However, the setting of the dielectric constant of the resin composition constituting the insulator to such a high value that can hardly be thought of with the conventional insulators (dielectric constant of approximately 2.0 to 4.5) can establish impedance matching while signal loss is controlled. Furthermore, to cause the insulator to have a capacitance is conducible to the control of crosstalk.
The relationship between the amount (V0) of the ceramic dielectric powder incorporated and the dielectric constant (xcex50) of the resin composition can be approximated with the following formula (1) using the dielectric constant (xcex51) of the ceramic dielectric powder and the dielectric constant (xcex52) of the matrix resin:
log xcex50=V0xc2x7log xcex51+(1xe2x88x92V0)xc2x7log xcex52xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1) 
Using the above formula (1), the amount (V0) of the ceramic dielectric powder required to be incorporated for the setting of a desired dielectric constant xcex50.
Molding can be performed by injection molding, transfer molding, press molding, etc.
The manufacture of the connector of the present invention can be performed by combining an obtained insulator with other parts of a contact, or by integrally molding by insert molding while placing, in advance, a conductive element in the mold during the molding process of the insulator.
The connector of the present invention may be used by being combined with a variety of techniques which have conventionally be proposed. Furthermore, the connector may be combined with a technique of shielding around a insulator with a shielding member as needed.
The optimal design of the connector of the present invention can be established through a test small production performed prior to a mass production, followed by the measurement of the characteristic impedances of the respective resulting test connectors performed with the connectors installed in an instrument to be adopted, followed by appropriate varying of the amount of a dielectric powder based on the results of the measurement.
In other words, the relationship between the dielectric constant (xcex50) and the impedance (Z0) can be approximated by the following formula (2) using a constant K which is determined from the shape of the insulator, the shape of the connector and the conditions of the circuit to be connected to the connector, and therefore, adjustment can be done so that the dielectric constant is made lower for increasing the characteristic impedance and that the dielectric constant is made higher for reducing the characteristic impedance.
Z0=K/xcex501/2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2) 
Such a characteristic impedance is under the influence of the shape of a connector, the circuit to be connected, a circuit disposed therearound and the like. In the design of the conventional precision connectors, therefore, a characteristic impedance adjustment requires to form and modify a mold two or more times, resulting in the necessity of a long time for launching products. On the other hand, in the connector of the present invention, impedance matching can be established easily by the adjustment of the composition of the resin composition with the shape of the insulator and the shape of the conductor portion itself unchanged, resulting in the saving of time required for the conventional formation and modification of molds and also permitting a great reduction of a time required until the beginning of the production of products.
Moreover, by varying the mixing compositions, insulators having the same shape formed with the identical mold can be produced for use in circuits corresponding to different impedances.
Furthermore, since the shape of an insulator or a connector can be designed relatively freely according to the present invention, the shape of the connector can be changed freely depending upon the requirement on the scaling down and packaging of instruments.
The connector of the present invention may be either of the type where it is mounted directly to a substrate or of the type where it is connected to a cable. The connector can be used for various applications such as interconnection between a plurality of circuit boards, interconnection between a plurality of devices, interconnection between connectors and circuit boards, interconnection between connectors, and integrated circuit sockets such as CPU sockets.